Annual Strategy Planning for 2026

Why founders who wait until January are already behind

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You don’t need a calendar to know that January isn’t the time to start planning your marketing strategy. By then, your competitors have already made their ambitious moves—and you’re still drafting your next email campaign.

2026 Is Not a Drag—It’s a Pivot

We’re heading into a year shaped by both opportunity and challenge. The IMF projects global growth at 3.1% in 2026, but warns that lingering tariff risks, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty could stall recovery before it starts. The OECD sees a similar picture, with global growth slowing to 2.9% in 2026—suggesting softer markets across the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and China.

Domestically, the U.S. economy is expected to grow just under 1.7% in 2026, down from previous forecasts—thanks in part to persistently high tariffs and consumer hesitancy. In other words: we’re not talking recession, but a plateaued landscape where every marketing dollar must justify itself.

This isn’t the year to wing it. This is the year to plan smarter, sooner, and with precision.

What 2025 Taught You (If You Were Listening)

2025 wasn’t just a warm-up—it was a test.

• What delivered ROI last year, and what didn’t make it to the results sheet?

• Which channels earned your ad dollars, and which quietly drained them?

• Did your team execute with energy—or limp across the finish line?

Because here’s the reality: 81% of Millennials and Gen Z switched brands in the last year.

That’s not a footnote—that’s a flashing red light. If you’re not evolving, your customers won’t wait for you to catch up.

Beyond Campaigns: Is Your Team Built for 2026?

Annual planning isn’t just about campaigns and budgets. It’s about whether you’ve got the right team to execute.

• Do you have senior leadership guiding the strategy—or are you still shouldering the marketing plan yourself?

• Is your in-house team stretched thin while agencies pull in different directions?

• Do you have the mix of brand, performance, and retention talent to actually scale?

I’ve seen fashion founders spend six figures on campaigns that fizzled—not because the ideas were bad, but because the team wasn’t aligned to execute at the level needed.

Annual strategy sessions are where you address that reality: who’s in the room, who’s missing, and what support you need to hit your goals.

The External Factors Shaping 2026

Annual planning also means anticipating the larger forces coming your way:

• Cultural milestones create opportunity. From the U.S. semiquincentennial to the World Cup landing in New Jersey, 2026 will be full of moments that shape consumer attention. If you’re not mapping brand tie-ins now, you’ll miss the chance.

• Economic shifts will test resilience. Tariffs and inflation mean more wallets turning toward necessities, leaving discretionary categories to fight harder for share. Luxury watches, handbags, and apparel are already seeing slower growth.

• The off-price boom. With consumer confidence lagging, off-price retailers and value-driven players are positioned to win. Do you have a counter-strategy—or are you hoping your full-price offering holds on?

The Tech & Data Piece Too Many Founders Forget

Your marketing stack is only as strong as the data flowing through it.

• Are your CRM and ad platforms tracking consistently?

• Do you have clarity on attribution—or are you guessing at ROI?

• Have you outgrown your tech, but delayed upgrading because you’re “too busy”?

2026 is the year to fix your foundation. According to McKinsey, brands that leverage customer behavior data outperform peers by 85% in sales growth and 25% in gross margin. Planning without a strong data backbone is like playing chess blindfolded.

The Blind Spots That Kill Annual Plans

Even savvy founders fall into these traps:

• Copy-pasting last year’s budget. It feels safe—but consumer behavior has shifted, and your spend needs to reflect that.

• Overfunding acquisition, underfunding retention. A tough economy rewards loyalty strategies more than quick wins.

• Assuming Q1 can be light. January is not a warm-up lap; it’s the foundation for the year.

Recognize them now, and you’ll sidestep them before they cost you real money.

Why Q1 Sets the Tone for the Whole Year

I’ll say it plainly: January is too late.

Forecasters are already signaling turbulence ahead. That means every dollar, every campaign, and every piece of content in Q1 has to work harder. Preparation is the multiplier—when you start early, you get more bang for your buck. When you wait, you spend half the year catching up.

Here’s the thing: the brands that scale aren’t improvising. They’ve got Q1 campaigns in motion before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. They’re not guessing, they’re executing.

The Questions Every Founder Should Be Asking—Now

1. What from 2025 deserves more investment—and what should stay retired?

2. Is your 2026 budget built around opportunity—or just rolled over from last year’s template?

3. Is Q1 already locked in, or will you spend it scrambling?

4. Do I have the right team and tech stack to execute the plan—or am I trying to patch holes?

If you’re hesitating on any of these, it’s your cue to act—strategically, and now.

Don’t Wait Until January

At The Lavender Agency, I lead marketing strategy sessions designed to give founders clarity, structure, and confidence heading into the new fiscal year. As a Fractional CMO for sustainability-focused fashion and lifestyle brands, I translate data into action and turn “big ideas” into measurable growth.

With fractional CMO services that drive results, we’ll finesse your Q1 playbook, fortify your budget, and align your plan with culture, economics, and ROI.

👉 Book a session now to finalize your 2026 marketing strategy. Preparation today is how you increase ROI with a fractional CMO tomorrow.

This blog is part of our September series on Annual Strategy Planning

Every September, founders are staring down the same challenge: how to wrap one year with intention and get the next year started without wasting time or money. That’s why this month, The Playbook is dedicated entirely to annual marketing strategy planning for 2026.

Here’s what’s coming next in the series:

1. How to Review 2025 Marketing Performance Before Building a 2026 Plan – Learn how to separate what worked from what didn’t, so you don’t waste budget repeating mistakes.

2. Building a 2026 Marketing Budget That Actually Supports Growth – Why “rolling it over” isn’t a strategy, and how to allocate for ROI in a tougher market.

3. Why Q1 Marketing Planning for 2026 Can’t Wait Until January – The real cost of waiting, and how to use early preparation to stretch resources further.

📩 Subscribe to The Playbook to get each blog in this series delivered straight to your inbox before anyone else.

Let’s make it actionable. Ask yourself:

• Am I confident my 2026 plan reflects both performance data and external forces?

• Do I have the right mix of team, tech, and resources to actually execute?

• If January hit tomorrow, would my Q1 strategy be ready—or would I still be in draft mode?

Sources

• International Monetary Fund (2025). World Economic Outlook Update: Global Growth Projections. Reuters summary.

• OECD (2025). Global Economic Outlook: Trade Policy Uncertainty Weakens Growth. OECD Press Release.

• The Conference Board (2025). C-Suite Perspectives Podcast: How Badly Will Uncertainty Hurt US GDP Growth in 2025? conference-board.org.

• eMarketer (2024). Brand Loyalty Fading Among Gen Z and Millennials. emarketer.com.

• WGSN (2025). Millennial and Gen Z Brand Switching Behavior.

• WGSN (2025). Global Youth Population & Gen Z Brand Expectations